Parent Aware Star Providers Celebrated

Sue Larsen, Parent Aware Provider Resource Specialist
Child Care Resource & Referral Network

Child care providers from Blue Earth and Nicollet Counties were recently honored for their participation in the Parent Aware pilot program. State Representative Kathy Brynaert and Parent Aware director, Val Peterson, were on hand to thank providers for their efforts and for becoming the first in their community to join this early learning/quality rating initiative.

Parent Aware is a voluntary quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) for licensed family child care programs, child care centers, Head Start, and School Readiness programs. Blue Earth and Nicollet Counties are one of four Minnesota communities in which Parent Aware is being piloted (other communities include the city of Minneapolis, city of St. Paul, and the Wayzata school district).

The primary purpose of Parent Aware is to support parents by providing information about the quality of early care and education programs. Parent Aware’s ultimate goal is to provide the foundation and support needed by all children for Kindergarten readiness and school success. Programs participating in the pilot submit documentation and receive visits from trained observers from the Center for Early Education and Development. Programs are awarded 1 to 4 stars depending upon points earned in 4 categories proven to have significant influence on children’s school readiness:

• Family Partnerships
• Teaching Materials and Strategies
• Tracking Learning
• Training and Education

As noted in the Mankato Free Press, “Earning four stars in the Parent Aware rating system is no small matter. In fact, when Little Stars Early Learning Center received the program’s top rating, the logo had to be changed on the front door. The old logo featured three stars. The new logo has four stars – homage, said director Collette Sternitzke, to the time and effort that went into the designation. ‘We wanted to do this to establish guidelines and standards for what a child care center should be. It’s nice to have that extra level of quality.’ Family child care provider, Christine Shortall noted that, ‘I learned so much. It really opened new doors for me. ’ Specifically, it helped her develop better ways of communicating with parents and preparing students for school, taking her child care program to the next level.”

Wherever this dedicated group of 18 child care providers fall on the Parent Aware rating continuum, they all deserve a huge note of thanks. Thanks for taking the initiative to become involved in the pilot, for pushing their programs and leading the way as child care innovators in the community. They also deserve thanks for sharing feedback about their experiences with the program and, in so doing, making a huge contribution to child care across the state of Minnesota.

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